Rome: In a meeting with the president of Morocco’s National Foundation of Museums (FNM), Mehdi Qotbi, the minister emphasized the strategic dimension of bilateral cultural cooperation as ‘an instrument of mutual understanding and sustainable development.’
According to Agence Marocaine De Presse, Giuli reiterated Italy’s firm intention to further strengthen the long-standing bilateral ties, especially in the spirit of the ‘Mattei Plan for Africa,’ noting that both parties are working to develop their cultural cooperation and support Matera and Tetouan as Mediterranean capitals of culture and dialogue in 2026.
In this regard, Qotbi expressed the Foundation’s readiness to contribute to the programme of cultural events to be organized by the Italian and Moroccan cities, which next year will be designated ‘Mediterranean Capitals of Culture and Dialogue.’ On this occasion, he offered an overview of the exceptional cultural and artistic momentum underway in the Kingdom, thanks to the enlightened vision of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, who has elevated culture into a central lever of Morocco’s influence.
Qotbi told MAP that his visit to Rome forms part of efforts to reinforce bilateral museum cooperation, adding that the Italian minister had expressed his wish that the itinerant Italian exhibition ‘Negotium’ travel worldwide, with Morocco as its first stop in 2027. The head of the FNM also noted that under the National Museum of Archaeology and Earth Sciences in Rabat, both parties agreed to provide Moroccan technicians with training in the preservation and restoration of marble and bronze works and objects, with the goal of subsequently transmitting this know-how to African countries.
Earlier, Qotbi held a working meeting with Emanuela Bruni, president of the MAXXI National Museum of 21st Century Arts, on upcoming exhibition projects to be held respectively in Italy and Morocco to highlight the historical cultural links between the two nations. In that framework, he said, Rome will host next year an exhibition dedicated to Moroccan women artists, while Rabat will stage an exhibition of modern and contemporary Italian painting.
He also said he met Massimo Osanna, director-general of Museums at Italy’s Ministry of Culture (MiC), and Fabrizio Magani, director-general of Archaeology, Fine Arts and Landscape at MiC, and they agreed on a programme of experience exchange and training in the field of art restoration, for the benefit of Morocco’s rich national archaeological heritage.